Manga and Education: A Study of Gakuen Manga by Robert Golebiowski East Asian Studies McGill University Submitted in December, 2017 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts © Copyright by « Robert Golebiowski » « 2017» Manga and Education: A Study of Gakuen Manga Robert Golebiowski Master of Arts East Asian Studies McGill University 2017 Abstract The purpose of this study is to inquire into the relation between manga and education. It centres on gakuen manga, a genre of manga whose protagonists are actively teachers or students. Particularly important to this inquiry is the surge of gakuen manga from the late 1970s, which occurred in conjunction with the implementation of new educational policies in response to widespread concern about the socialization of youth in Japan. This study thus addresses the emergence and transformation of the gakuen genre as well as the key debates and historical transformations in the Japanese education system, such as the tsumekomi or cram system, the yutori or relaxed system, and finally the move toward ikiru chikara or ―life skills.‖ Central to this study is a careful reconsideration of gakuen manga and other school life manga for the ethical insight they provide into the problems, conflicts, and contradictions encountered by students in contemporary Japan. ii Abstrait Le but de cette étude est de s'interroger sur la relation entre le manga et l'éducation. Il est centré sur le manga gakuen, un genre de manga dont les protagonistes sont des enseignants ou des étudiants actifs. La poussée du manga gakuen de la fin des années 1970, qui s'est produite parallèlement à la mise en œuvre de nouvelles politiques éducatives en réponse à la préoccupation généralisée de la socialisation des jeunes au Japon, est particulièrement importante pour cette enquête. Cette étude aborde donc l'émergence et la transformation du genre gakuen ainsi que les débats clés et les transformations historiques dans le système éducatif japonais, comme le système tsumekomi ou " cram, " le système yutori ou " détendu, " et enfin le mouvement vers l'ikiru chikara ou " compétences de vie" au centre de cette étude est une reconsidération prudente de manga gakuen et d'autres manga de la vie scolaire pour la perspicacité éthique qu'ils fournissent dans les problèmes, les conflits et les contradictions rencontrées par les étudiants dans le Japon contemporain. iii Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Prof. Thomas Lamarre for the continuous support of my thesis study and research, for his enthusiasm, words of encouragement, immense knowledge and above all patience. Without his guidance and help in the process of research and writing of this thesis, this endeavor would have proven to be much less enjoyable and by extension, fruitful. Thank you for being such a splendid advisor and mentor. Likewise, I would like to thank Prof. Yuriko Furuhata for invaluable knowledge in her course which helped me shape the initial construct and subsequently for her revision comments on the thesis. I learned more than I realized at the time and I will always be grateful for that. iv Table of Contents Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... ivi Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 Education through Manga .............................................................................................. 5 Chapter 2 Mapping Gakuen manga ............................................................................................. 28 Chapter 3 Non-Normative Education .......................................................................................... 51 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 75 References ..................................................................................................................................... 78 Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 81 v List of Figures Figure 1. Number of new gakuen manga publications (per year) ................................................. 81 Figure 2. Number of new and continuing (active) publications ................................................... 81 Figure 3. Diversification of the representation of school life ....................................................... 82 Figure 4. Gakuen activity type breakdown ................................................................................... 82 Figure 5. Excerpt, Ranma 1/2 Vol.1 73, 89-90 ............................................................................. 83 Figure 6. Ikuru chikara chart ........................................................................................................ 83 Figure 7. The lows of vocation relevance of education in Japan .................................................. 84 Figure 8. Content of recent studies counseling ............................................................................ 84 Figure 9. Subjects implemented in association with "industrial society and people" ................... 85 Figure 10. Excerpt, Great Teacher Onizuka Vol.2 80-81 ............................................................. 86 Figure 11. Excerpt, Yahari ore no seishun rabukome wa machigatteiru Vol.1 1-3 ...................... 86 vi 1 Introduction While Japanese education is well known worldwide by its fashionable multitude of iconic school uniforms and a strict learning environment, many of us only have glimpses of what student life is like in Japan. In many cases but not limited to manga fandom this exposure takes its roots through a vast multi-genre school themed content. Yet it is only recently that the uses of its pure entertainment value as a popular medium has been recognized and explored beyond the confines of story-telling. As one such example, in recent years there has been an increase of manga use for promotion of tourism by using real locations as the setting, as in the example of Flying Witch about a witch-in-training set in Hirosaki city in Aomori prefecture, as well as Minami Kamakura Kōkō Joshi Jitensha-Bu following the activities of the cycling club set in Kamakura city in Kanagawa prefecture. In the same way, manga may offer an insightful point of view on school life. Whether through critique, endorsement or anything in between, the sheer exposure can be a powerful tool that through its reflection on social issues can be directly or indirectly of educational value is worth exploring further. It connects the real world of education in Japan, the very real challenges faced by policy makers, the schools left with implementing them over extended periods of time, as well as the media focus and public debates that continually demand and reshape the very essence of education and the school environment with an outlet of artistic expression where those conflicts manifest in many different ways that remain unfailingly relatable. Despite manga having already received a lot of analytical attention, through debates by scholars like Jean-Marie Bouissou, Adam L. Kern and Frederik L. Schodt as to its origins or precursors, as well as the contemporary comics analysis by Thomas Lamarre, Scott McCloud, 2 Eiji Ōtsuka, Yū Itō and Tomoyuki Omote, that aim at deconstructing the internal forces and meanings that produce specific effects on its audience, the fact that it has already been used as part of the educational apparatus for decades had been given limited attention by Hiroyuki Yamada and to which Itō refers to as a ―blind spot of manga culture and studies.‖1 In the sense of a direct tool for educational purposes, manga styled drawings can be found in a plethora of manuals, textbooks, instruction books and guides. They are not limited to occasional illustrations and single or even few panel intermissions as a stylization choice for a text heavy classroom textbook, but also include full manga from cover to cover as well. These and other manga that were specifically made as direct study supplements are referred to as gakushū (learning) manga, being highly popular with parents who wish to incite early learning in their children, but also among students who prefer a quicker read of a manga as opposed to a full text only book. Yet recently there is another, more indirect use of popular manga that has become a household staple. For those who read manga or watch anime based on manga nowadays, it is impossible to go a season without multiple titles that slightly touch or completely revolve around the thematic of school life, referred to as gakuen (school) manga. Though that is not unusual considering Japan like many other countries institutes compulsory education, ensuring that a large part of youth is experienced from the confines of a public or private school, having not only a higher emphasis on this part of life within a school environment but also having it bear more influence within a plotline of manga is relatively recent. What they reflect and focus on however, is not simply school life as part of the story to make